172 THE ENTOMOLOGIST. 



system by feeding on leaves over which snails and shigs 

 have crawled and fed: these latter pests have almost defo- 

 liated some trees and shrubs, and done more harm than ten 

 limes the amount of caterpillars; still a seasonable check on 

 the latter is very beneficial. P. Cardui is almost the only 

 insect that appears more abundant than usual, and it remains 

 to see whether this year's brood will equal in numbers the 

 hybernating insects of last year. — Henry Reeks. 



Difficulty of discovering the Lnrva of Argynnis Eiiphro- 

 syne. — Some have doubted the assertion that " leaves of the 

 violet may be turned over by thousands" without obtaining 

 this larva; and Mr. Mathew has thrown a new light upon the 

 matter by informing us that it frequently reposes on some 

 object near the food-plant. But, even if this fact is kept in 

 view, it is hard to detect; and I have a vivid recollection of a 

 morning in April, about the middle of that month, when what 

 was to have been " a morning with the larvae of Euphrosyne," 

 turned out to be a morning with spiders and ants, with an 

 occasional Cimex. The work is all the more laborious, 

 because violets rarely grow in considerable patches ; and as 

 the search must be made stooping, it is a back-breaking task. 

 From the circumstance that A. Euphrosyne is sometimes 

 plentiful in a place where there are few violets of any species, 

 it seems at least possible that other plants may yield it food. 

 At the suggestion of a friend I have searched for it on the 

 prin)rose, but without success. — /. R. S. Cliff^ord ; 59, 

 Robert Street, Chelsea. 



Larva of Abraxas Grossulariata feeding on Rose. — It is 

 curious to note how the food -plants which an insect has 

 adopted as its own, when it has become semi-domesticated, is 

 rigidly adhered to year after year, despite the temptations 

 which surrounding plants may offer. Thus, as we know, the 

 larva of the above-named species is found in nature on a 

 variety of plants, though most frequently on oak and black- 

 thorn ; but in our gardens gooseberry and currant bushes are 

 its exclusive food in ordinary seasons. This spring, however, 

 the mild weather early in the year brought into sudden 

 activity the larvae of Grossulariata in our London suburbs, 

 and probably elsewhere. The leaves showed signs of prema- 

 ture expansion, but received a sudden check; and, in conse- 

 quence of that, as the larvae did not return to a state of 



